Eragon
Eragon Shadeslayer, or Eragon Argetlam, was a male human, the first in a new generation of Dragon Riders. He was trained by Brom and Oromis, and chosen as her Rider by Saphira, a blue dragon. Eragon grew up as an orphan, without any real knowledge of his parentage, but later discovered that he possessed magical abilities and was destined to fight the forces of evil, headed by King Galbatorix. At the Battle of the Burning Plains, he learned that Murtagh, his one-time friend and ally, was actually his brother; and that he was the son of the notorious Forsworn, Morzan. Despite the immense age gap that seperated them, Eragon was enamored of the elf princess Arya. The romantic tension between them was a focal point throughout many of his adventures, though Arya, for the most part, rejected his advances. History Early life For the first fifteen years of his life, Eragon lived on a farm in the small village of Carvahall. His mother, Selena, had vanished soon after he was born, leaving him in the care of her brother, Garrow, and Garrow's wife, Marian. Eragon did not know the identity of his father. Discovery of the "stone" While hunting in the Spine, an untamed range of mountains near Carvahall, Eragon found what appeared to be a smooth, blue stone. At first, he intended to sell it, figuring that it would buy enough meat to last the winter. Unable to interest a buyer, however, he kept the "stone" for himself, and was shocked when it hatched an infant, female dragon. The dragon touched his palm, leaving him with the gedwëy ignasia, the mark of a Dragon Rider. Because any reminders of the era of the Dragon Riders were outlawed in the Empire, Eragon neccessarily raised the dragon in secret, torn between his delight with his new companion and his fear of what might happen should the Empire discover what had occured. He eventually resolved to keep her, and built a home for her high in the branches of a tree. After consulting with Brom, the village story-teller, as to a good name for a dragon, he named her Saphira. For a while, he managed to keep her hidden, but when Saphira and her appetite continued to grow, he realized he would not be able to keep her existence closeted much longer. Not long afterwards, two menacing, hooded beings of immense power, the Ra'zac, came to Carvahall, searching for the dragon egg. Saphira, now able to mentally communicate her thoughts, forced Eragon to flee with her, while the Ra'zac destroyed Eragon's farm and mortally wounded Garrow. Quest for vengeance Eragon, Saphira, and the cryptic story-teller Brom resolved to hunt down the Ra'zac and avenge Garrow. As they travelled, Brom taught Eragon swordsmanship and more about the history of the Dragon Riders. To his surprise, Eragon learned that he was named after the very first Dragon Rider, Eragon I. Almost by accident, he also discovered that he was able to use magic. Questioning Brom about it, he learned that all Dragon Riders possess magical abilities, and Brom subsequently took it upon himself to instruct Eragon in the proper use of the talent. After a while, they lost the Ra'zac's trail, but were able to track the Seithr oil, the substance used by the Ra'zac to kill Garrow, to the port city of Teirm. With the assistance of Brom's close friend Jeod, they used the annals in the city's record room to discover that the Ra'zac were located in Helgrind. During this hiatus in Teirm, Eragon learned to read and write - abilities which Garrow had considered unnecessary - and also to scry. With his growing skills in magic, he eavesdropped on a conversation between Brom and Jeod, and, to his surprise, learned that both men were members of the Varden, a rebel group that opposed the rule of King Galbatorix. ]] He visited a witch named Angela, who told his fortune. She revealed that he would have a long lifespan, that the great powers of the land would struggle to control him, that he would fall in love with a lady of noble birth, that he would leave Alagaësia forever, and that he would face betrayal from within his own family. Eragon also encountered Angela's werecat, Solembum, who told him in cryptic words that, when he was in need of a weapon, to look under the Menoa tree; and to speak his name at the Rock of Kuthian and open the Vault of Souls when his power was insignificant. On the way to Helgrind, Eragon scried a beautiful maiden in a dream. He saw that she was in a prison, and, spellbound by her beauty, decided to check the prison in each town they passed along the way in search of her. She continued appearing in his dreams for some time. Outside of Helgrind, Eragon and his companions were ambushed by the Ra'zac. They were rescued by a mysterious man known as Murtagh, but not before Brom was fatally wounded by a Ra'zac dagger. Brom died shortly afterwards, after revealing to Eragon that he was once a Rider, and a great friend of Morzan. Eragon and Saphira erected a beautiful memorial for Brom. They then resolved to travel with Murtagh in search of the hidden Varden. They set out for Gil'ead, hoping to find a contact who can lead them to the Varden. At Gil'ead, Urgals under the command of Durza captured Eragon and imprisoned him in the same prison where the maiden, an elf, was being held. Murtagh and Saphira staged a daring rescue, and Murtagh temporarily disembodied Durza. Eragon insisted on rescuing the elf, as well. She remained unconscious, but he was able to speak with her mentally. She revealed to him that her name was Arya, and gave him the location of the Varden, telling him that they must reach the Varden if she was to survive, for she had been poisoned in prison, and would die without the antidote. Journey to the Varden Eragon, Saphira, Murtagh, and Arya crossed the Hadarac Desert, pursued by the Empire and a small army of Kull, racing to reach Farthen Dûr, the Dwarven mountains that housed the Varden, in time to save Arya. Before they entered, Murtagh, who had been reluctant to go to the Varden all along, revealed that he was the son of Morzan, first and last of the Forsworn. Consequently, he was imprisoned by Ajihad, leader of the Varden, when he and Eragon finally arrived in Tronjheim. Eragon was introduced both to Ajihad and to Hrothgar, the King of the Dwarves; he also met up again with Angela and Solembum. Ajihad wished to send Eragon to Ellesméra to complete his training; therefore, two magicians known as the Twins assessed his magic abilites. The Twins were cruel to Eragon, and attempted to use him to further their knowledge of the Ancient Language. A fully-healed Arya intervened, however, and took the task of assessing Eragon upon herself, sparring with him. Eragon, although being soundly defeated, passed the test in Arya's eyes. He began to fall in love with her. The Varden respected and even revered Eragon. Soon after he arrived in Tronjheim, he was approached by an elderly woman and the orphaned child, Elva, who was her charge. The woman asked Eragon's blessing upon Elva, which he gave readily, using the Ancient Language: Atra gülai un ilian tauthr ono un atra ono waíse skölir frá rauthr (let luck and happiness follow you and may you be shielded from misfortune). Saphira gave the child her own special gift: a silver star, similar to Eragon's gedwey ignasia, on her forehead. Saphira told Eragon that the child would have a significant future. Not long after, war became imminent. Ajihad informed them of an impending threat: an intercepted message revealed that a legion of Urgals was marching steadily towards the Varden. In the battle that followed, a seemingly endless tide of Urgals seemed poised to take the fortress. Within Tronjheim, the cone-shaped Dwarven city located at the center of Farthen Dûr, Eragon was confronted once again by the menacing Shade, Durza. Eragon was greatly outmatched by the Shade, but, thanks to a sudden distraction from Saphira and Arya, Durza's attention was diverted long enough for Eragon to thrust him through the heart. Eragon paid a terrible price for his deed: he was wounded on the back, and the scar would trouble him greatly over the course of the next few months. Following Durza's demise, the controlling link the Shade held on the Urgal's minds snapped, causing the remainder of them to flee. Eragon fainted and fell into a healing trance; he was watched over by mental presence of the Mourning Sage, who urged him to follow Arya to Ellesméra, the capital of the Elves. North to Ellesméra , Eragon's blue dragon ]] Eragon decided to accept the advice of the Mourning Sage, and, accompanied by Orik and Arya, traveled northward through eastern Alagaësia to Ellesméra, in order to complete his training as a Rider. He met with Islanzadi, the Elven queen, and the enigmatic raven Blagden, who spouted riddles concerning Eragon's past and future. Eragon was surprised to learn that Arya was Islanzadi's daughter, and therefore a princess. The training of a Rider Eragon's training began almost at once. His instructor was an ancient Rider named Oromis, who had managed to prolong his life by means of countless tiny spells binding his weak body. Eragon's excercises with Oromis were frustrating, at first, but gradually he learned what it means to be a true Rider, guided by principles and making responsible choices, and came to understand that his "training" was an ongoing process that would last his entire life. He learned other things, as well, such as history, art, and politics. His knowledge of magic and the Ancient Language expanded tremendously. To his horror, however, he learned from Oromis that, rather than blessing Elva, he had instead cursed her, due to a mistake in his wording (having accidentally said "may you be a shield from misfortune", thus dooming her to constantly suffer from the hurts of others). He resolved to revoke the curse, although such a feat would require tremendous magical ability. Eragon's training also honed his fighting skills. He developed an intense rivalry with an elf named Vanir, and their mutual dislike came to a head during their sparring sessions. Eragon was defeated multiple times, often suffering bouts of pain from the scar on his back, but eventually, he was victorious, and he and Vanir made amends. Tutored by Oromis, Eragon composed a poem to present at the Blood-Oath Celebration, a traditional Elvish ceremony commemmorating the pact between the Elves and the Dragons. During the festivities, as a magical gift from the Dragon race, Eragon was finally healed of his wound, and was physically transformed, acquiring the features and abilities of an Elf. The Burning Plains Upon hearing that Galbatorix was mustering his army in order to attack the Varden in Surda, Eragon and Orik departed from Ellesméra and fly south on Saphira. They joined up with the combined forces of Surda and the Varden on the Burning Plains. Aided by his newfound skills, Eragon kept the tide of the battle turned in the Varden's favor. Unexpectedly, however, another Rider appeared, mounted on a red dragon. Wearied by the battle, Eragon was easily outmatched and driven onto the ground with Saphira. He and his opponent then faced off with swords. Recognizing the other Rider's manner of fighting, he managed to pull off his helm, revealing Murtagh, who had been thought dead. Murtagh revealed that he had been taken to Uru'baen by the Twins, and, when the red Dragon, Thorn, had hatched for him, he had been forced to swear allegiance to Galbatorix in the Ancient Language. His orders were to capture Saphira, because, as she was the last female dragon in existence, Galbatorix needed her to fulfill his goal of rebuilding the order of the Riders. Murtagh decided to have mercy on them this one time, but he claimed Zar'roc as his own, and revealed another terrible truth: Eragon was Morzan's younger son. Haunted by this turn of events, Eragon imparted his newfound knowledge to Roran, Nasuada, and Arya. He then agreed to aid Roran in rescuing Katrina from the clutches of the Ra'zac. Comparisons Star Wars Eragon is something of a Luke Skywalker type: he is given the responsibility of continuing the legacy of an ancient order (in Eragon's case, the Dragon Riders; in Luke's, the Jedi), and becomes the first of a new generation of that order. He is trained by older members of the order (Brom and Oromis, compared to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda). Eragon's father, like Luke's, was once allied with the "good" side, but later was corrupted and fell to the "dark" side. Real life Author Christopher Paolini states that Eragon originally started out as an autobiographical character. Paolini started writing Eragon at the age of fifteen, which is his protagonist's age at the beginning of the novel. When I first invented Eragon, he was me. Writing about yourself is probably one of the easiest things for a fifteen-year-old author to do. However, I found that as the story progressed and Eragon did things that I've never done—such as fighting monsters and flying a dragon—he evolved into his own character, which I'm very happy about.http://shurtugal.com/?id=trilogy/christopher/qanda#writing Other *Eragon will be portrayed by Edward Speleers in the [[Eragon (movie)|upcoming film version of Eragon]]. *Fans have noted that the name "Eragon" may have come from the word "dragon", with the 'd' replaced by an 'e'. References Category:Characters